23.1.9-10
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.9-10 · Death pruned like a vine
The vine dressers turn on Death himself and cut him down like a vine.
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9𐎃𐎉𐎜𐎍𐎎𐎐𐎊𐎇𐎁𐎗𐎐𐎐𐎇𐎁𐎗𐎎𐎂𐎔𐎐
10𐎊𐎕𐎎𐎄𐎐𐎐𐎕𐎎𐎄𐎎𐎂𐎔𐎐𐎊𐎌𐎖𐎍𐎌𐎄𐎎𐎚𐎅
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
ḫṭ1
𐎃ḫ𐎉ṭ1
ḫuṭṭu
the staff
ulmn2
𐎜u𐎍l𐎎m𐎐n2
ʾulmanu
of widowhood
. zbrm3
𐎇z𐎁b𐎗r𐎎m3
zābirūma
The pruners
gpn4
𐎂g𐎔p𐎐n4
gapni
of the vine
yzbrnn5
𐎊y𐎇z𐎁b𐎗r𐎐n𐎐n5
yazburūnannu
prune himthey prune him
, ṣmdm6
𐎕ṣ𐎎m𐎄d𐎎m6
ṣāmidūma
the binders
gpn7
𐎂g𐎔p𐎐n7
gapni
of the vine
yṣmdnn8
𐎊y𐎕ṣ𐎎m𐎄d𐎐n𐎐n8
yaṣmudūnannu
bind himthey bind him
; yšql9
𐎊y𐎌š𐎖q𐎍l9
yašqilū
they fell himthey make fall
šdmth10
𐎌š𐎄d𐎎m𐎚t𐎅h10
šadmatahu
onto the terracesto the terrace
the staff of widowhood. The pruners of the vine prune him, the binders of the vine bind him; they fell him onto the terraces
the staff of widowhood. The pruners of the vine prune him, the binders of the vine bind him; they fell him onto the terraces
23.1.11-12
The Birth of the Gracious Gods 23.1.11-12 · Said seven times
The vine picture closes and a stage direction follows: say it seven times.
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11𐎋𐎎𐎂𐎔𐎐
12𐎌𐎁𐎓𐎄𐎊𐎗𐎂𐎎𐎓𐎍𐎓𐎄𐎆𐎓𐎗𐎁𐎎𐎚𐎓𐎐𐎊𐎐
as the scribe pressed it into the clay, left to right, a small upright wedge between words
like a vine. Seven times it is recited at the dais, and the enterers answer.
The second staff is widowhood. Then the vine dressers go to work, and the “him” in each verb is Mot: Death is pruned, tied, and dropped on the terraced slope like a cut vine. Death dies by vineyard tools.
In the Baal Cycle Anat does something like it to Mot with blade, sieve and fire. šdmt, “terraced field”, is the same word as Hebrew šədēmôt, used beside the vine in Deuteronomy 32:32.